Buy New or Upgrade Hardware?

[justlearn]

I have a 17inch MBP purchased in 2008.

I wanted to buy a new one this year - but now with the death of the 17inch im wondering if I can pay someone to just upgrade everything inside?

I have no idea if this is even possible but want to explore options and get suggestions because i dont want a 15inch - even with retina.

The 17inch is my preference, especially with the matte display i have. I prefer the space over the resolution.

What are my options? Not sure what other info you need to provide good suggestions.

 

[SDAVE]

What are my options? Not sure what other info you need to provide good suggestions.

First option
SSD + Max out the memory (looks like yours will be 8GB).

That's it.

Your second option is to sell your current one and get a 15" rMBP. It's a great piece of hardware and will scale to the same resolution as your 17". I dislike glossy, but the rMBP is much nicer than the old glossy displays.

You have to make compromises.

Your Third option is to get a 2011 Matte MBP (look for a 17" Refurb). These are miles ahead of Core 2 Duo (what you have).

 

[justlearn]

Thanks so much for the info.

On the first option what is a fair price for that?

Im also looking on macmall to see if there are any 17 inches left.

 

[SDAVE]

Thanks so much for the info.

On the first option what is a fair price for that?

Im also looking on macmall to see if there are any 17 inches left.

There are a bunch of SSD's going on sale right now, you just have to check them yourself. Installing RAM & SSD's are fairly simple and will take 10 minutes.

How much RAM do you have right now? And how much space do you need? A 256GB SSD is the sweet spot for price/space. 512GB is still fairly pricey.

You're better of checking the Apple Refurb Store

 

[justlearn]

I was going to pay someone to do that for me - I was wondering on a price for service. Is it something i should be paying someone to do or is it really just pop out and pop the new one in?

I just dont want to make a mess.

 

[adityanag]

I have a 17inch MBP purchased in 2008.

I wanted to buy a new one this year - but now with the death of the 17inch im wondering if I can pay someone to just upgrade everything inside?

I have no idea if this is even possible but want to explore options and get suggestions because i dont want a 15inch - even with retina.

The 17inch is my preference, especially with the matte display i have. I prefer the space over the resolution.

What are my options? Not sure what other info you need to provide good suggestions.

What do you do with the Mac? If you do anything that's processor intensive (3d stuff, video editing, photoshop, etc), don't think about it and buy the retina. The CPU boost is totally worth it.

If you don't use CPU intensive programs, and are generally happy with the computer, go with the SSD and max out the RAM

 

[SDAVE]

I was going to pay someone to do that for me - I was wondering on a price for service. Is it something i should be paying someone to do or is it really just pop out and pop the new one in?

I just dont want to make a mess.

Even if you're not super tech savvy, replacing the HDD with an SSD and upgrading the ram is VERY easy. Especially the 2008 MBP, it has a removable panel on the bottom next to the battery.

Why would you pay someone else to do it?

Check out these install videos.

Here's an SSD on sale

 

[justlearn]

Thanks! I had no idea it was easy.

Im pretty tech savvy, but worry on the hardware side. I think Ill try the upgrade for now and maybe in 6 months sell.

Thanks so much for all the guidance!

 

[SDAVE]

You're welcome

The SSD upgrade alone will give new life to your lappy.

How much RAM do you have right now? I think the 2008 MBP (is yours the unibody?) is 8GB max. That's about $20-40.